That scenario should reinforce my initial assertion about
the divide between a software developer living in some warm
climate overseas and a home heating business in Manhattan. It
is hard, in other words, to appreciate the urgency of this matter
when it is 80°F outside a programmer's office and 15°F outside
a user's vehicle.
My claim aside, this discussion can be reduced (by heating oil
companies) to a straightforward question (for developers of mobile
applications worldwide): How well do you know our business?
Does your team understand the culture and economics of
this industry?
And, with all due respect for the power of Skype and the
many interactive virtual tours of a fueling center or dispatch-
ing office, knowledge begins with braving the elements, driving
those country roads and learning the mechanics (and chatting
with the mechanics) of a business that is often helmed by the
grandson or great-great nephew of an owner whose name – and
heritage – continues to this very day.
These points also contain a universal lesson about the success-
ful adoption of new technology.
The principle is clear: While "build it, and they will come" reads
like an inspired piece of philosophy, it is, in fact, the epitaph of
many a failed business.
Nowhere is that comment more relevant than among the
vendors and clients referenced in this column.
For, though I can confirm that there are plenty of heating oil
companies in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and in the northern
half of the United States, every owner is, in the end, from Missouri;
each one is, intellectually, a resident of "The Show Me State"; that
individual demands, and has every right to receive, proof that a
product or service works as advertised.
That rule transcends any one industry, and is a guide to all
industries.
Its validity rests on craftsmanship, albeit of the digital kind,
where so many ones and zeroes perform a specific function.
The details, not to belabor the obvious or mix metaphors from
different trades, are like the threading of a bespoke suit or the
symmetry of a finely calibrated engine; they have the fit of – and
provide a feel for – excellence.
That is the way to build an application for the home heating
industry.
Bill Stomp is the vice president of business development for Digital
Dispatcher. Digital Dispatcher's Delivery solution is a mobile field
management software solution for the Liquid Fuel, Propane and
Product Delivery industries.
www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | March 2015 29
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